Bread and Butter
by thelinksthatconnectus
Summary: Love and tenderness can still be found, even in a cruel and crumbling world. A collection of Mikasha one-shots/drabbles, often involving AUs.
1. Made to Fall - The Hunger Games AU

No one breathed for a moment, and no sound could be heard. All of the Shingashima District had silenced.

A lump had formed in Sasha's throat, and her eyes were frozen to the small stage in the center of town. Her heart thrashed inside her chest, and sweat had found it's way all over her body.

The man on stage, a blond man who had said his name was Erwin, dug around in the girls' bowl, looking happily ignorant of the fear and worry around him. Inside the bowl was slip after slip after slip of paper, and one had her name on it.

She bit her lip. After all, what was the probability that she would have her name pulled? There were hundreds of other girls in the district who were of reaping age. Her teacher had mentioned probabilities in a math lesson once, and though Sasha had only been half awake, she had listened to her teacher explain how the larger something was, the less likely that someone would win.

Or, in Sasha's case, lose.

Erwin smiled, though Sasha could not return it. He pulled a piece of paper out of the bowl and held it up.

Sasha's heart skipped a beat when he read it.

If it weren't for the weight of everyone's eyes on her then she would have thought that she was just having a nightmare, the usual pre-reaping stress other kids her age had.

But no, it was real.

"Sasha Braus," Erwin repeated, the smile fading from his face.

Sasha forced herself forward, the crowds of students parting to let her through. Some had stopped looking to her and instead looked at the ground, as if they were in shame.

The lump in Sasha's throat only tightened further. Though she had been hungry earlier, now she felt as though she would vomit up her breakfast at any time.

It had been so unlikely, Sasha thought, jumping back to what her teacher had said. How could it still happen?

She could only imagined her father's horrified face back at home. He was probably just as shocked as her, wondering what he could have done to deserve this. Already, he had lost his wife and youngest son due to a lack of food. Now, his daughter would be gone too.

I'm sorry, Sasha thought. I'm really, really sorry, Papa.

She couldn't be sure if she would be able to tell him that out loud. How much longer until she was shipped off to compete in The Hunger Games?

The stage spotlights were bright, as if to make up for the cloudy sky.

"I am so glad to see you." He smiled, one of those fake Capitol smiles, and then reached into the next bowl.

Who would it be? Hopefully not her best friend, Connie, with whom she had always played tricks and joked around with. He had been the closest that Sasha had to a brother when her little brother starved. Or could it be Marco, a nice boy in her class who always found ways to compliment everyone? He was too good to be lost. Or what about Reiner or Bertholdt? They couldn't be kept apart.

Erwin brought the slip of paper out in front of him. "Eren Jaeger."

Sasha froze. Eren had been another boy from her school, though she had never gotten to know him well. Though he certainly did have a temper, he was also incredibly loyal to his friends. He certainly did not deserve to be sent off to die.

Eren stepped forward, clear to see even in a large crowd.

No, Sasha thought. No, no, no, please no.

Eren's mother would be devastated.

A familiar hand was raised, though this time it was not to answer a teacher's question. "I volunteer." Mikasa's blood red scarf flowed slightly in the wind. Her dark hair flowed with the wind as well, blocking Sasha from seeing her eyes. "I volunteer as Tribute."

The silence returned, though Erwin had joined along. He stood straight and tall, his eyes on the other girl. Mikasa only drew closer, walking past Eren and Armin. Again, the stunned crowd parted to allow her through.

"Well," Erwin said once the steel eyed Mikasa got on stage, "this has never happened before. This is sure to be interesting." He grinned.

Sasha's stomach twisted. How could he possibly be happy about this?

They met eyes for one moment, Mikasa's eyes as hard as steel. She stood where Eren would have had she not volunteered for him.

But, Sasha thought, you don't deserve to die either, Mikasa.

"Congratulations, Shingashima District!" Erwin held his hands out towards both of them. "These two young women will be representing you and the one hundred and seventh annual Hunger Games!"

Her teacher certainly could not have calculated this, no matter how hard that she may have tried.


	2. Yet the Storm Still Comes

It wasn't the thunder that ultimately woke her up, but the lightning. A bright light flashed across the dark room, the lightning making it glow for a moment like the day time.

Just as soon as it appeared, it was gone, leaving Mikasa to sit up against her bed frame and clutch her blanket tightly to her chest alone. Her heart raced, the only sound that she could hear beyond thunder, the snores of those who shared her room, and the heavy patter of rain that never seemed to stop.

Perhaps the rain would dry and training could go on as usual in the morning. Sasha was going to graduate soon, so she would need to be prepared.

Being prepared meant that she had a better chance of escaping a Titan.

The titans, however, suddenly seemed very far away. They were probably hiding from the rain and lightning as well; it had to have some effect on them.

The longer that she stayed awake and listened to the rain beat down, the more that Sasha's eyes adjusted to the dark. Her stomach rumbled, though for once she could not be sure how she was hungry.

The kitchens are far away, Sasha thought. So, so far away.

Sasha could imagine the wet, slippery mud beneath her feet, and the ice cold rain covering her until she was soaked to the bone.

Back when she still lived in her village, she had usually went to her father when it stormed. He was bothered by them as well, having witnessed some of his friend's fall due to nature. They would sit up and talk, Sasha right beside him (even when she got older she would still cuddle close). If the storm went on for a very long time then her father would pull out some old cards, and they would play for a while.

Now, she didn't have her father. She was, after all, training to protect him from Titans. It was the least that she could do for him.

Without thinking, Sasha got out of bed. She dropped her blanket, though she was still cold. Trying to walk as quietly as she could (even though the wooden floorboards creaked beneath her feet), she made her way to the door.

She stopped for a moment, her hand only inches from the doorknob.

"Sasha?"

Sasha froze. Had she actually managed to wake someone up.

"Sasha, what's going on?"

Sasha turned. The dim light showed Mikasa, mostly covered by her blanket though Sasha could see that she was not wearing her usual red scarf.

"I'm sorry," Sasha muttered, looking down to the floor. "I just got woken up by the storm, and I stopped thinking from there."

That was as close to the truth as it seemed. Storms had a way of making the world change and become irregular.

For a moment, Mikasa was silent and Sasha was still, her eyes locked on the other girl.

"Come over," Mikasa said, raising up her blanket.

Sasha felt her cheeks burn.

What's going on? she thought.

Her feet, however, moved mechanically. Some part of her could not help but feel a little happy; were it not for the storm, then this would not be happening.

It was hard to fit two into Mikasa's small bed, but they managed. If Mikasa seemed bothered by them being so close that they touched, then she did not mention it.

"I," Sasha said, "I'm afraid of storms. They're just so loud and bright."

"You do not need to explain." Mikasa placed a hand on Sasha's shoulder.

Maybe, Sasha thought, I'm actually sleeping through the storm. This is a nice dream.

"I am going back to sleep." Mikasa rubbed Sasha's shoulder with her fingertips. "I hope that you will be able to do the same; being tired during training would be terrible."

"I know." Sasha closed her eyes, though she had no idea how long that it would actually take for her to fall asleep. "Thank you, Mikasa."

"You're welcome. Good night, Sasha."

"Good night to you, Mikasa." Her voice was just barely above a whisper.

When Sasha did fall asleep, she dreamed of a bread and vegetables, her father and her hunting, and a brave, kind, and beautiful girl.

When she woke up the next morning next to Mikasa, Sasha discovered that the storm had finally stopped.


	3. What's Done is Done

Ever since Sasha had devoted her life to slaying Titans, her life had been filled with pain. It wasn't that she hadn't felt pain before, or seen her friend's die before. Even before she started training to fight Titans, she had seen others die.

Still, there was a difference between watching someone die of hunger and watching someone else get eaten.

The childhood pains in her stomach, and weakness of breath left when she had more to eat. (There was always a little extra when more soldiers fell, but that pain only came after she ate.)

Every time a mission was completed and the troops were back behind the safety of the wall, she would count. Arithmetic had never been her strong suit, but she did it. On some days she would get a good number, the same one that she had during the last mission.

On those days, others died, but Sasha had not known them well. As she patted their backs and tried to give comfort, her mind would drift back to her friend's and squadmates.

She would wait and wait and wait for her father's letters, and then respond as soon as she could. If she was lucky, Sasha could write a letter quickly and with a grin on her face.

The taste of victory was sweet, covering her tongue and making her work all the more harder.

The sour taste of defeat made her head spin and sent the contents of her recent meal to the floor.

All the while, she hugged Mikasa tighter, and tried to not remind herself who the real risk taker was. Mikasa was the important one, the one that would be missed if she were gone.

Sasha? She only had a handful of people who would surely miss her.

At least one was Mikasa, who always returned Sasha's tight squeeze and let her cry into her red scarf.

When Sasha held her, felt her (and Mikasa was no illusion, no dream or memory), the pain lessened a little.


	4. Down the Family Tree - High School AU

Mikasa had never had a girlfriend who was quite as willing to introduce her to her parents as Sasha. Though Mikasa had met Annie's father back before their breakup, it had been on accident (still, Mr. Leonhardt had been quite a nice man). Sasha had already met and talked with Carla and Grisha a number of times, and certainly knew Eren well.

Sasha had shown her pictures of her father in the past, along with mentioning him in conversation. When she had brought up letting the two meet, her eyes had grown wider and lit up. Before, she had never found reason to say no to Sasha, and she had not changed that time.

Sasha lived a few blocks from school in a story, red brick home. The front yard looked as though it had been mowed within the last few weeks, an old looking tree stood tall in front of the house.

"He's really excited to have you over for dinner." Sasha adjusted her backpack. "I promise that he's a really nice guy."

"If he is anything like you then I'm sure that he will be."

Sasha had her key out, though the door was opened before she could even try and open it.

There was certainly a resemblance between the man at the door and Sasha. Both had the same nose, hair color (though Sasha's lacked the grey streaks), and facial build.

"Hello," he said, opening the door further. "You must be Mikasa. My daughter has spoken so highly of you."

Mikasa smiled. Walking forward, she held out her hand. "I'm very glad to meet you."

"Very glad to meet you? I thought you were Mikasa! Sasha, you gave me the wrong name." He chuckled to himself.

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah Dad."

He chuckled again. "I'll let you two girls come in. My spaghetti and homemade garlic bread will be ready soon."

Sasha licked her lips. "Sweet!"

"That sounds wonderful." Mikasa said.

Once inside the Braus living room, Mikasa and Sasha took off and placed down their backpacks. From the kitchen came the sound of Mr. Braus whistling.

"So, what do you think? I promise that my dad is a good guy, even if most of the times his jokes stink."

Mikasa shrugged. "I think I like him. Besides, he tells better jokes than Grisha does."


End file.
